Monochild

Roots

"Is it that you simply cannot speak?" asked the shadow figure as they walked closer to the cave's exit.

The little one stopped in response and simply shook its head. No matter how hard he tried, the little one couldn't find any way to produce a vocal sound.

"Well, that's perfectly fine! I can understand you, and you can understand me! Speaking of which... What is your name?"

The little one tilted its head in confusion. The figure noticed the hesitation.

"I mean, what is the term used to refer to you? What do you call yourself?"

The little one thought for a few moments. It had never considered that it needed to be called something by others.

"For example, my name is Vanchana. What is yours?" explained the figure, now apparently named Vanchana.

The little one tried to think of many names, but even if it came up with one, it wouldn't be able to say it anyway. Sensing the dilemma, Vanchana suggested a name.

"How about we call you Mono? It means 'one'. All I can think of is that you are literally the only creature I’ve seen with such anatomy. What do you say — 'Mono'?"

The little one thought... Mono. It wasn’t the most ideal name. However, good or bad, a name is still a name, and our little protagonist definitely needed one. So, it accepted the name with a nod of approval.

"That's great!" responded Vanchana cheerfully. "You now have a name! Now, don't dally, my friend! You don't want to be stuck in one place forever..."

Mono felt pleased with its name and decided to listen to its new friend. As they walked, Mono finally began to observe its surroundings.

It was a large forest-like area with thin black trees that stretched so high that even the most daring climbers wouldn’t attempt to reach them. The trees were absolutely devoid of leaves. Only long, undulating branches and tangled roots bundled together. It was unclear how these strange trees spread their seeds or absorbed nutrients.

Feeling disturbed by their nature, Mono stopped looking up and kept walking, searching for signs of life. Yet it couldn’t find a single one. The atmosphere was just brown dirt and eerily tall trees with no shadows, similar to Mono and Vanchana...

Wait, what?

The trees did not cast any shadows, even though it was broad daylight. Despite the fact that the two also did not possess shadows, Mono didn't feel safe, and began walking faster. Vanchana sensed Mono’s fear and also picked up the pace.

As they shambled faster and faster, Mono couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. It almost seemed as if whatever was watching could sense their fear.

Mono began to feel vibrations and tension from the ground, almost as if something deep underground was surfacing. Little black spikes poked up from beneath the soil. Soon, those spikes turned into long, undulating roots stretching in every direction. Left, right, up, down. Nowhere was safe.

It was now perfectly clear why nothing lived here. Anything that entered this area would succumb to these carnivorous tree roots. That’s why so many creatures were hiding deep in the earlier cave. It was their safe haven—a place too deep for these vile roots to reach.

Mono had spent so much time connecting the dots that it didn’t notice multiple roots grabbing for them.

"Hey!" shouted Vanchana. "There are too many roots for me to cut! I assume you cannot simply teleport like me, and judging by your blob appearance, I don’t think you can burrow either. So how about I quickly cut the roots off your body and—"

Before Vanchana could finish, a large root strangled and quickly engulfed them.

Well, that’s just great! Mono was now stuck, and this time death seemed absolutely guaranteed.

Mono tried to wiggle free, but it did absolutely nothing. The roots coiled tighter and tighter, attempting to drain something. However, due to Mono’s obscure anatomy, it had no nutritional value of any sort.

After a few moments of twisting and turning, the trees found no reason to consume a creature like this. The roots tangled into a cupped shape and catapulted the little one far away, as if spitting it out in disgust.

Due to its small size and puffy exterior, the impact of the extreme fall was devastating for Mono, but not fatal. It was like watching a ball bounce until it lost acceleration and slowly settled. The only difference was that this ball was alive and had legs.

When Mono got up, it examined itself for any injury. Yet it found absolutely none.

It was almost funny. No matter what happened, Mono seemed to have magical plot armor.

Funny. The word that depicts humor. Isn’t it odd that Mono can even feel things? Pain, fear, joy, and relief. Why can it feel these things but have no voice to express them?

In its own way, nature can be cruel... That begs the question: is it even a creation of nature? It can neither eat nor breathe. It can’t talk and doesn’t seem to have any way of reproducing. Mono doesn’t tick many boxes for what defines something alive.

Shouldn’t there be someone to answer these questions? After all, the only thing Mono was really given was some twisted riddle:

"Find the warrior. Find the guardian. Find the beast, and find the witch. With these four united, you shall ascend to the crown and become the true Mono-Child."

Mono felt a tinge of frustration and anger. Where are these supposed figures!? Where is this crown that’s supposed to magically appear when these people are united!?

As Mono brimmed with internal conflict, it suddenly saw a large figure approaching...